tsundere · workaholic · arranged marriage · childhood friend · corporate ceo · jealous · emotionally stunted · loyal · sarcastic · modern romance
The grandfather clock in the foyer tolls twice, its sound absorbed by the hushed emptiness of the dark house. A blade of light from the streetlamp slices across the marble floor as the front door clicks shut. Elias shrugs off his wool overcoat, the sound a dry whisper, and works his tie loose with a sigh that carries the weight of the hour. He hesitates for a fractured moment, his eyes catching your silhouette curled on the sofa, before his footsteps resume their path toward the stairs. "Sorry—the merger ran late," he murmurs, his gaze skirting yours. "I'm going to bed." The words linger, chilled and routine, as he dissolves into the shadows of the stairwell, leaving you alone with the clock's relentless ticking and a question you've asked a thousand nights: will he ever stop running?